The air in my house feels dry and gross

[steve dave]

Guys the Nest thermostat has a humidity sensor on it.

Mine says 38% right now. What is ideal?

[Emo EMAW]

25% is minimum, I think over 50% might be too much.  You're right in the wheel house steve dave! 

[IPA4Me]

My comfort zone is 35-45. Much drier than that causes sinus overload. Much higher and the windowsills will sweat.

[BIG APPLE CAT]

Guys the Nest thermostat has a humidity sensor on it.

Mine says 38% right now. What is ideal?

I design for 50% RH in buildings but everything I have read says 50 is inappropriate for residential because it is not "tight" construction.  If there are any parts of your house that are drafty in the winter then that 38% might be a bit on the high side.

[steve dave]

Our house is brand new and airtight. Like if you are in the bathroom for too long with the door shut you may suffocate to death.

[IPA4Me]

@benja thanks for starting this thread. It reminded me to clean humidifier. Pretty scaled up after last winter. Good to go now!

[IPA4Me]

Guys the Nest thermostat has a humidity sensor on it.

Mine says 38% right now. What is ideal?

I design for 50% RH in buildings but everything I have read says 50 is inappropriate for residential because it is not "tight" construction.  If there are any parts of your house that are drafty in the winter then that 38% might be a bit on the high side.

Do you design for winter 50% on commercial buildings?

[yoEMAW]

Wife is complaining about our house's air as well. Very dry/gross. Pretty sure little yo would complain as well if he could verbalize it. Heat and air guy says that the bypass style are kinda crappy and wants to  set me up with a steam type humidifier. Please confirm if these are worth the extra scratch. tia.

[IPA4Me]

Love my whole house steam humidifier. Easy maintenance once a year. No pad to replace.

[BIG APPLE CAT]

Guys the Nest thermostat has a humidity sensor on it.

Mine says 38% right now. What is ideal?

I design for 50% RH in buildings but everything I have read says 50 is inappropriate for residential because it is not "tight" construction.  If there are any parts of your house that are drafty in the winter then that 38% might be a bit on the high side.

Do you design for winter 50% on commercial buildings?

I primarily work in hospital facilities but yes, unless it's a special case it's usually 73/50% for cooling and 70/50% for heating*

*where I live we don't really have "winter" or "dry air" but you know, psychrometrics is psychrometrics.

[Benja]

i would recommend buying a high dollar hygrometer and then reporting back.

update: I'm borrowing one of these, I think. I need to know for sure.

[Benja]

@benja thanks for starting this thread. It reminded me to clean humidifier. Pretty scaled up after last winter. Good to go now!

No problem bud. It motivated me to do like ten things I would have never done either.

[Benja]

Wife is complaining about our house's air as well. Very dry/gross. Pretty sure little yo would complain as well if he could verbalize it. Heat and air guy says that the bypass style are kinda crappy and wants to  set me up with a steam type humidifier. Please confirm if these are worth the extra scratch. tia.

I have the bypass one and can confirm that it sucks. Or at least mine does. Maybe because I messed with it too much.

[BIG APPLE CAT]

Our house is brand new and airtight. Like if you are in the bathroom for too long with the door shut you may suffocate to death.

Your house leaks like a seive, sd.

[bones129]

This thread makes me wonder whether I'm gonna live or die. Having our HVAC people out this week.

[BIG APPLE CAT]

I'm guessing live, probably. Why are they coming out?

[IPA4Me]

update: I'm borrowing one of these, I think. I need to know for sure.

Buy one. https://www.trutechtools.com/Testo605H2


Or upgrade your thermostat. https://www.alpinehomeair.com/viewproduct.cfm?productID=453067597

[IPA4Me]

I primarily work in hospital facilities but yes, unless it's a special case it's usually 73/50% for cooling and 70/50% for heating*

*where I live we don't really have "winter" or "dry air" but you know, psychrometrics is psychrometrics.

Had a feeling you were in a temperate climate. You can't design for 50% winter RH in the north. You'll sweat windows and mold the walls.

[Emo EMAW]

Wife is complaining about our house's air as well. Very dry/gross. Pretty sure little yo would complain as well if he could verbalize it. Heat and air guy says that the bypass style are kinda crappy and wants to  set me up with a steam type humidifier. Please confirm if these are worth the extra scratch. tia.

I have the bypass one and can confirm that it sucks. Or at least mine does. Maybe because I messed with it too much.

Our bypass one seems undersized or otherwise inadequate.  I can really only maintain 25% humidity in the coldest parts of the year.  Sometimes I run just the fan/humidifier without the heat to get a bump in humidity.  I do think the new furnace is over-sized though, so it doesn't run that much/enough.

[Mrs. Gooch]

My hands were super dry and red last night. Gross.

[Bloodfart]

4yr old Daughter of Bf is super annouyed by the static build up in her hair.  Like when I pulled her stocking cap off she immediately ran to the bathroom to wet her hair down.  She almost ripped her 6yr old brother's face off for dragging a blanket over her head. 

[Benja]

Wife is complaining about our house's air as well. Very dry/gross. Pretty sure little yo would complain as well if he could verbalize it. Heat and air guy says that the bypass style are kinda crappy and wants to  set me up with a steam type humidifier. Please confirm if these are worth the extra scratch. tia.

I have the bypass one and can confirm that it sucks. Or at least mine does. Maybe because I messed with it too much.

Our bypass one seems undersized or otherwise inadequate.  I can really only maintain 25% humidity in the coldest parts of the year.  Sometimes I run just the fan/humidifier without the heat to get a bump in humidity.  I do think the new furnace is over-sized though, so it doesn't run that much/enough.

I'm 100% confident mine has been running perfectly for like two days straight now and it's still only up to 24% in here. I'm looking into other options.

Before I fixed it, it must have been about -10%. I don't know how we lived. My skin is still recovering.

[Benja]

This is BULLSHIT

[steve dave]

just checked on my phone and mine is currently 33%. turned it down a bit the other day because of some condensation on my windows.

[Benja]

just checked on my phone and mine is currently 33%. turned it down a bit the other day because of some condensation on my windows.

oh, that's nice. brag about 33% when i'm living in the iraqi desert over here.

also how do you check humidity on your phone.